Gwyneth Shepherd
Gwyneth Sophie Elizabeth Shepherd '''(b. October 7th, 1994) also affectionately called '''Gwenny and Gwen ), is the biological daughter of Paul de Villiers and Lucy Montrose, but was later adopted by Grace, Lucy's aunt, and Nicolas Shepherd, Grace's husband. She is the Ruby in the Circle of Twelve, and twelfth in the Circle of Blood. Biography Gwyneth Shepherd was born on October 7, 1994, to Paul de Villiers and Lucy Montrose, but was later adopted by Grace and Nicolas Shepherd. She was born the same day as her cousin Charlotte, and the prophesied date of a time traveller, the Ruby. But the midwife Dawn Heller faked her birth date to October 8th at the request of her adopted parents, Grace and Nicolas Shepherd. No one suspected Gwyneth to be a carrier of the time travel gene, so she grew up with a typical childhood. At 16 years, it was discovered that Gwyneth was the last in a group of twelve time-travellers, the Ruby. In Emerald Green, it was revealed that she was immortal. The Ruby Gwyneth is the Ruby, the twelfth in the Circle of Twelve. Her animal is the raven, her tree is the birch, and her alchemic quality is projectio. The Ruby was to be born on October 7th, Gwyneth's birthday. This date was determined through an unnamed process many years before. Prophecy'' The prophecy for the Ruby is:The raven red, on ruby pinions winging it's way between worlds, hears dead men singing. it scarce knows its strength, the price it scarce knows but its power will arise and the Circle will close'' Family She was assumed to be the daughter of Nicolas and Grace Shepherd but was later revealed to be the daughter of Lucy Montrose (who was assumed to be her cousin) and Paul de Villiers. She is the niece of Glenda Montrose. She is the cousin of Charlotte. She is the granddaughter of Arista Montrose and Lord Lucas Montrose. She is the descendant of Margaret Tilney, Jeanne de Pontcarré, Cecilia Woodville, and Elaine Burghley through her mother. Through her father she descends from Lancelot de Villiers, William de Villiers, the count of Saint-German and Timothy de Villiers(one of the Carnelian twins), making her and Gideon cousins fifth removed. At the end of the third book, it is said that Lucy and Paul switch their name to Bernhard and are expecting a second child. It can be assumed that this child is related to the Montrose's Butler, Mr. Bernard who appear frequently in the books to help the characters. *Grace Shepherd: Gwyneth's adopted mother and her biological great-aunt. They have a close, intricately woven relationship. *Nicolas Shepherd: Gwyneth's adopted father. Not much is known about their relationship, as he died of leukemia when Gwyneth was seven years old. But she remembers that he used to play guitar for her and Nick before he became sick and that he always claimed that she got her musical talent from him. *Lucy Montrose: Gwyneth's biological mother. She was also a time traveler (the Sapphire) and disappeared into the past shortly after Gwyneth's birth. *Paul de Villiers: Gwyneth's biological father. He was also a time traveler (Black Tourmaline) and disappeared into the past shortly after Gwyneth's birth. *Caroline Shepherd and Nick Shepherd: The younger siblings of Gwyneth. They are biologically first cousins one removed. *Arista Montrose: The adoptive grandmother and biological great-grandmother. Personality Gwyneth has a will harder than diamond unless you're talking about Gideon de Villers. She is never the one to follow someone else unless that person is someone who she holds in high regard. Gwen is a true friend in the sense of she is always there for people when they need her. While she may not have as much knowledge as many other characters, she is still quite wise. Gwyneth also tends to be a little stubborn about things, and won't allow anyone to toy with her and get away with it…she's very kind hearted unless you do her wrong. She tends to get impressed easy and even easier when her heart gets involved. She's curious and likes to get down to the bottom of things and won't stop thriving until she finds all the answers to her questions. Ruby Red As the book opens, Gwen is complaining about how she always manages to get food on her uniform as she hurries to button up her school blazer. After having a run-in with the school's popular girl, Cynthia, Gwyneth compares herself to her cousin Charlotte, the female gene carrier from a long line of time travellers. She then remarks about how easily Charlottle has accepted the time traveling gene while she wouldn't have been as passive. After lunch, she and her best friend Lesley compare their A minus grades on their history test as they watch Charlotte receive another A plus. She then goes on to talk about Mr. Whitman and how every girl seems to be in love with him even though because of her best friend, she thinks he looks like a squirrel. While an argument starts out between him and Gordon Gelderman, Charlotte begins to have a dizzy fit. Gwyneth quickly huddles her out of the classroom and walks her through the hallways as she comes face to face with her ghost friend James. Charlotte's dizziness turns out to be phantom symptoms. Relationships Gideon de Villiers "It's far too late for you to say that. I love you. And I wouldn't want to go on living without you." - Gwyneth to Gideon when they were in the tunnels. At first, Gideon's relationship with Gwyneth was rocky. They quarreled quite a bit, and wouldn't get along. Later on, though, Gideon was able to pluck up the courage and confess his love for Gwyneth. They had their arguments after that,because Count Saint-Germain told Gwyneth that Gideon was just manipulating her and all of it was an act. However, Gideon and Gwyneth overcame the misunderstanding, and were able to have a stable, romantic relationship. grace Shepherd "Have those damn Guardians been doing something to you? What happened?" - Grace to Gwyneth when she came home after Gideon's lie. Gwyneth, Nick, and Caroline's mother. In Emerald Green, it is revealed that Grace Shepherd adopted Gwyneth when she was born. It is shown in the first two books that they have a strong relationship. Like all Montrose's, she has curly red hair and blue eyes. Her behaviour is often very mysterious, and she knows more than she lets on. She also helped Lucy and Paul escape with the stolen chronograph by letting them stay several months at her house in Durham, where she had lived with her husband and children until the death of her husband. Lesley Hay "Whenever he looks at me with those big brown eyes, I feel like giving him a nut." - Lesley to Gwen about Mr. Whitman. Lesley is Gwyneth's best friend, who also attends St. Lennox High School. She is shown to like love stories and hang out with Gwen. Lesley has freckles and blonde hair and is the only one outside of Gwyneth's family who knows about the time travel secret. At first, she helps Gwyneth find out the mystery, gathering information from the internet and books. She is very smart, loyal, helpful, and encourages Gwyneth. She lives with her parents and her dog Bertie in an apartment in North Kensington. James August Peregrine Pympoole-Bothame "What does she mean, a ghost? The Honorable James August Peregrine Pympoole-Bothame, heir to the fourteenth Earl of Hardsdale, is taking no insults from young girls!" - James to Gwen and Lesley when Lesley said he was a ghost. James is the ghost who haunts St. Lennox. He is friends with Gwyneth, who is his only friend since he can only be seen by Gwen and detests Xemerius. He was born on the 31 March 1762, but died at the age of 21 of smallpox. He is not aware that he is dead and consistently believes that he is merely dreaming. In Emerald Green, Gwen and Gideon forcibly inject him with smallpox vaccine, while James thought it was some kind of mugging. Afterwards, it is revealed that the inoculation was successful, and he even managed to get married, though it is unknown how long he lived after that. Xemerius "Girls get on my nerves worse than any other kind of human being. Along with retired taxmen, saleswomen in hosiery departments, and presidents of community garden societies." - Xemerius to Gwyneth when she finished a phone call with Lesley. Xemerius is the demon that follows Gwyneth around after he witnesses her and Gideon kissing in the church he was haunting in 1912. While called a demon, he is more accurately described as a cat-like ghost that can talk. He becomes very helpful for spying on people to get information for Gwyneth, as she is the only one that is able to see him. He and James don't really get along, as James believes that he is a cat from his nightmares. Behind the scenes *In the German original her name is "Gwendolyn". de:Gwendolyn_Shepherdpl:Gwendolyn_Shepherdfr:Gwendolyn_Shepherdnl:Gwendolyn_Shepherd Category:Montrose family Category:St. Lennox students